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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. clip — a video
  3. capital — a city
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. capital — money
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. clip — to cut
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. rest — what's left
  17. content — happy
  18. clip — for paper
  19. rest — a break
  20. content — the amount
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. season — in sport
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. lie — to recline

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com